Robert Lewandowski

[RedRover]

Thats an interesting thesis. Care to eloberate?

Maybe they will fall somewhat and won´t be able to challenge Bayern or for the CL title in the next years, but fall to mid table in the Bundesliga? For that to happen, something would need to go terrribly wrong.

Watzke, Zorc and Klopp have used the success in the last years to build an extremely stable fundament of the club. While they are still behind Bayern quite a bit in terms of finances, the gap between them and the rest of the league is even wider.

They are estimated to generate between 260 and 270 Mil € revenue for the last season without taking transfer income into account. That is around two times as much as the third biggest club Schalke will generate. They have a huge and modern stadium, which is filled to the brink at every occasion. Merchandise sales go through the roof due to bigger popularitiy and the fan numbers are steadily growing. Add to that several renewed sponsorship deals for better conditions.

They are also not dependent on the CL as income source, because they can still break even without it.

Losing one or two key players won´t make them fall out of the top 3. They lost with Götze their strongest individual player, but they were still able to push the currently strongest team in world to their limits in the CL final without him.

Surely how succesful they are depends on more factors than the money they generate?

Losing key players becomes a real problem if you dont replace them with players of similar ability. Losing the likes of Goetze and Lewandowski will clearly take a lot away from the team. All well and good if the players they bring in to repalce them are up to the job but what if they aren't? All well and good in theory being able to able to sell a player for £30 million and replace him for £15 million - but that's celarly easier said than done.

Dortmund have a lot of good players - who will attract top sides who are likely to offer them large pay rises and the chance to compete in other top leagues for succesful sides. Dortmund will either have to pay those players big money, or let them move and try to put together a new side.

Its difficult for teams to continue to be succesful if every summer thye lose one or two of their better players - its one of the main reason why football can by cylical in nature with teams moving up and down in terms of success. Other german sides have been succesful over the last couple of decades in winning titles and doing relaitvely well in europe - Dortmuind themselves had a good period in the 90's and then fell away.

The big problem I forsee for german football in general is that it could become a one horse race. Dortmund wont be competing for top talent then unless they pay huge money.

 

[Sphaero]

I think if Dortmund hadn't lost Gotze in the way they did, they'd be a lot more willing to sell Lewandowski to Bayern this summer.

Dortmund was willing to sell Lewandowski for a fair price (around 25 Mil. €) in this summer. It was Bayern, which never made an offer for him. Watzke put up a deadline in June for offers to come in, but Bayern did not make a move. Apparently both Chelsea and Real were interested and willing to pay the price (or even more), but Lewandowski is set to move to Bayern and nobody else. I have no idea what Bayern promised him to be that unwilling to join a different top club.

Bayern on the other hand have no dire need for him and want to snatch him for free in 2014. By doing that, they don´t need to spend a transfer fee for a top class striker and hurt their biggest rival at the same time.

I can only speak for myself, but I hope that Aubameyang can make a big impact for them from the start, so they won´t be dependent on Lewandowski and put him on the bench.

This whole saga leaves a really bad taste in my mouth, in relation to both Lewandowski plus agent and Bayern.

 

[Shinjisan]

@ Sarni & Sphaero

I have done this with Balu and a couple of others before. I would find those conversations and re-post them tomorrow.

 

[Ramshock]

Would love him at United, cant see it happening now

 

[Sphaero]

Surely how succesful they are depends on more factors than the money they generate?

Losing key players becomes a real problem if you dont replace them with players of similar ability. Losing the likes of Goetze and Lewandowski will clearly take a lot away from the team. All well and good if the players they bring in to repalce them are up to the job but what if they aren't? All well and good in theory being able to able to sell a player for £30 million and replace him for £15 million - but that's celarly easier said than done.

Dortmund have a lot of good players - who will attract top sides who are likely to offer them large pay rises and the chance to compete in other top leagues for succesful sides. Dortmund will either have to pay those players big money, or let them move and try to put together a new side.

Its difficult for teams to continue to be succesful if every summer thye lose one or two of their better players - its one of the main reason why football can by cylical in nature with teams moving up and down in terms of success. Other german sides have been succesful over the last couple of decades in winning titles and doing relaitvely well in europe - Dortmuind themselves had a good period in the 90's and then fell away.

The big problem I forsee for german football in general is that it could become a one horse race. Dortmund wont be competing for top talent then unless they pay huge money.

Again, this is not about maintaining their current level, this is about losing enough quality for them to drop out if of the top group (top 3-4) of the Bundesliga.

And I don´t see that happening as long as they don´t lose 4 or 5 starters at the same time. They have way too much pulling power on the German market for not being able to compensate single departures to an extend, which is enough to at least challenge for the CL places.

They are right now too far away from their competition in terms of perspective, staff and finances. Who, outside of Schalke is going to challenge them?

 

[RedRover]

Again, this is not about maintaining their current level, this is about losing enough quality for them to drop out if of the top group (top 3-4) of the Bundesliga.

And I don´t see that happening as long as they don´t lose 4 or 5 starters at the same time. They have way too much pulling power on the German market for not being able to compensate single departures to an extend, which is enough to at least challenge for the CL places.

They are right now too far away from their competition in terms of perspective, staff and finances. Who, outside of Schalke is going to challenge them?

Big words - and it may be the case as it stands, but things change quickly in football. They're in a tough position. Two of the best players are or will shortly be gone. There are at least two or three others who could, in the next couple of years be subject to big bids and big offers in terms of wages.

I'm sure Dortmund fans will be hoping the club doesnt have the same attitude of compalcency as you seem to. They need to try and keep doing what they're doing - unearthing decent players for decent sums and hoping they can replace the quality they lose. That's a huge task - and one that can can go badly wrong if the wrong decisions are made.

Its easy to bang on about who may or may not challenge. Take a look at the PL where Cheslea and Man City are now yearly title challengers. 15 years ago if you'd said that to any football fan they'd have laughed.

 

[Sultan]

Klopp has supposedly confirmed that he'll play for Bayern after this season.

I still think Dortmund will try to sell. You just can't keep a player who's intent on moving for sake of team morale and financial losses. Will they drop him for Bayern games?

 

[NoLogo]

I still think Dortmund will try to sell. You just can't keep a player who's intent on moving for sake of team morale and financial losses. Will they drop him for Bayern games?

They will probably drop him as soon as Aubameyang shows he can take his place.

It's also out of Dortmunds hands considering that Bayern never made an official offer and Lewandowski won't go anywhere else.

 

[NoLogo]

Big words - and it may be the case as it stands, but things change quickly in football. They're in a tough position. Two of the best players are or will shortly be gone. There are at least two or three others who could, in the next couple of years be subject to big bids and big offers in terms of wages.

I'm sure Dortmund fans will be hoping the club doesnt have the same attitude of compalcency as you seem to. They need to try and keep doing what they're doing - unearthing decent players for decent sums and hoping they can replace the quality they lose. That's a huge task - and one that can can go badly wrong if the wrong decisions are made.

Its easy to bang on about who may or may not challenge. Take a look at the PL where Cheslea and Man City are now yearly title challengers. 15 years ago if you'd said that to any football fan they'd have laughed.

Well of course no one can really say who a team will develop over a long period of time, even though the Bundesliga is a bit more predictable in that regard because of the 50+1 rule.

But there also seems to be this weird idea going around on these forums that Dortmund are just a flavor of the month team that now has it's 15 minutes of fame and will vanish again soon after, which is imo a conception based on ingorance and very little actual knowledge of the club Dortmund itself.

Otherwise people would realize that Dortmund is a recovering powerhouse of a club with a match going fan base that is only rivaled by clubs like United, Barca, Real and Bayern.

Yes they lost Götze and will lose Lewandowski but so far it looks like they brought in some good replacements and might not even be totally done in regards of new players, according to Bild Gündogan is going to extend his contract despite offers from Real Madrid and PSG so to assume that big clubs just need to come knocking on their door and every player will jump ship.

As long as the officials of the club don't repeat the mistakes of the past Dortmund is a club that is here to stay for many years to come, if in 10-15 years they will be overtaken by some other clubs, no one can tell, just as you can't tell if we will be the new Liverpool by then, in the end almost everything is possible.

 

[jojojo]

Klopp: “We have a bow and arrow, and if we aim exactly right, we can strike. It feels like Bayern have a bazooka, so the chances of them striking are much higher. But still, that was how Robin Hood succeeded.”

http://www.bundesliga.com/en/liga/news/2012/0000259984.php

I don't seem them slipping out of the top three, but money really does talk in football and given their relative resources, Bayern have been underachievers in the Bundesliga in the past few years (until this one obviously). But the way they're pushing Dortmund It looks like they aren't planning to allow a lot of serious competition.

 

[Raoul]

I hope they're getting a massive fee for him. They shouldn't have too much trouble replacing him if they are willing to pay.

 

[Adam-Utd]

They will probably drop him as soon as Aubameyang shows he can take his place.

It's also out of Dortmunds hands considering that Bayern never made an official offer and Lewandowski won't go anywhere else.

Yep, its a bit like the Barrios situation, he was the main striker until Lewandowski found his feet, then that was it no going back.

 

[RedRover]

Well of course no one can really say who a team will develop over a long period of time, even though the Bundesliga is a bit more predictable in that regard because of the 50+1 rule.

But there also seems to be this weird idea going around on these forums that Dortmund are just a flavor of the month team that now has it's 15 minutes of fame and will vanish again soon after, which is imo a conception based on ingorance and very little actual knowledge of the club Dortmund itself.

Otherwise people would realize that Dortmund is a recovering powerhouse of a club with a match going fan base that is only rivaled by clubs like United, Barca, Real and Bayern.

Yes they lost Götze and will lose Lewandowski but so far it looks like they brought in some good replacements and might not even be totally done in regards of new players, according to Bild Gündogan is going to extend his contract despite offers from Real Madrid and PSG so to assume that big clubs just need to come knocking on their door and every player will jump ship.

As long as the officials of the club don't repeat the mistakes of the past Dortmund is a club that is here to stay for many years to come, if in 10-15 years they will be overtaken by some other clubs, no one can tell, just as you can't tell if we will be the new Liverpool by then, in the end almost everything is possible.

I'm not saying that at all - but how many "powerhouses" would lose two of their best players (one of whom is a young kid developed through the youth team, whom you'd expect to have a bit more loyalty) to their biggest rivals? Losing Goetze is like United losing a young Ryan Giggs or Paul Scholes to City or Chelsea.

Regarding players, they've gone out and bought some seemingly decent players - but not, currently, players of the estsblished quality of what they've lost. That's the point I was making - you lose a top class player and replace him with a player who might be somehwere near that level. Its not an exact science and its very difficult to do.

I'm not for a minute saying that Dortmund will drop like a stone - but I also don't hold with the view that they're going to be a fopotball powerhouse in Europe like they were last year. As I said, football is cyclical and there are a lot of good sides in Europe - most of whom can spend bigger money on established players.

 

[NoLogo]

I'm not saying that at all - but how many "powerhouses" would lose two of their best players (one of whom is a young kid developed through the youth team, whom you'd expect to have a bit more loyalty) to their biggest rivals? Losing Goetze is like United losing a young Ryan Giggs or Paul Scholes to City or Chelsea.

Regarding players, they've gone out and bought some seemingly decent players - but not, currently, players of the estsblished quality of what they've lost. That's the point I was making - you lose a top class player and replace him with a player who might be somehwere near that level. Its not an exact science and its very difficult to do.

I'm not for a minute saying that Dortmund will drop like a stone - but I also don't hold with the view that they're going to be a fopotball powerhouse in Europe like they were last year. As I said, football is cyclical and there are a lot of good sides in Europe - most of whom can spend bigger money on established players.

Well even we lost Ronaldo, whom we made a star, to Real Madrid.

Players like Giggs and Scholes are a very rare sort of player, they are 1 in 1000 under players these days even if they come through the clubs own ranks most players don't feel any special obligation towards any special club.

It's all about the money these days and of course Watzke made the mistake by allowing such a low buyout clause in his contract, he was naive and thought well even if it's there he probably won't use it because he likes it here too much.

And of course success in Europe is harder to obtain in Europe than it is in the domestic league, we of all fans should know that, but that doesn't mean Dortmund will totally vanish out of the circle of teams that have a chance of reaching the later stages of the CL.

I think as long as Klopp is their manager they will remain Germany's number two team and a top 10 team in Europe, even if they continue to lose one or two of their star players per season.

 

[NotoriousISSY]

I think as long as Klopp is their manager they will remain Germany's number two team and a top 10 team in Europe, even if they continue to lose one or two of their star players per season.

Losing one or two star players per season isn't a sustainable model to remain a top two club.

Eventually it will catch them up. For now they do have a very good squad, but will they find bargains like Reus every summer to replace the departed? I just can't see it.

If they do manage it under Klopp it'll be one of the great achievements of football management.

 

[Sarni]

RedRover, all the other German clubs apart from Bayern are also consistently losing their best players. Leverkusen just sold Schurrle and Schalke will probably lose Draxler over the next 2-3 years, Hamburg lost Son and Werder Bremen lost Sokratis, both to their league rivals. Leverkusen and Schalke are the only two clubs who could possibly overtake Dortmund at one point or another with good management, short term. In 10 or 15 years anything could happen obviously but over the next 2-3 years I doubt that Dortmund's place in top 4 will be in danger.

 

[NoLogo]

Losing one or two star players per season isn't a sustainable model to remain a top two club.

Eventually it will catch them up. For now they do have a very good squad, but will they find bargains like Reus every summer to replace the departed? I just can't see it.

If they do manage it under Klopp it'll be one of the great achievements of football management.

Well it's the maximum that will ever happen, if there is no player in the last year of contract and no team comes throwing a absurd amount of money at Dortmund to get one of their players no player will leave at all. It's not like they have to sell.

So far they have made good business to compensate for their losses and if their revenue keeps rising they will be able to pay higher wages in which will make it even harder for other teams to get their players.

Of course Dortmund will work towards a situation where they don't lose their star players anymore and I feel that people really underestimate the fact that Dortmund could grow into such a club, with a bit of luck of course, but the foundation for it is there and people who just keep on denying this do it either out of arrogance or ignorance.

 

[NotoriousISSY]

Well it's the maximum that will ever happen, if there is no player in the last year of contract and no team comes throwing a absurd amount of money at Dortmund to get one of their players no player will leave at all. It's not like they have to sell.

So far they have made good business to compensate for their losses and if their revenue keeps rising they will be able to pay higher wages in which will make it even harder for other teams to get their players.

Of course Dortmund will work towards a situation where they don't lose their star players anymore and I feel that people really underestimate the fact that Dortmund could grow into such a club, with a bit of luck of course, but the foundation for it is there and people who just keep on denying this do it either out of arrogance or ignorance.

No one is denying their potential, but at the same time it's amazing how often they are losing their better players.

If they can keep hold on Hummels, Piszczek, Gundogan, Sahin (again) Bender and Reus in particular as well as ensure the likes of Gotze and Lewandowski, when he leaves, are replaced then of course they have a chance. But changing your main attackers every couple of years after they're poached away by the bigger clubs with more money, it's a huge task.

I don't think it's ignorance from anyone, everyone appreciates the way Dortmund do things and think their success is amazing. It's just difficult to imagine it going on forever if they lose their best players. For now they've outlasted the likes of Stuttgart and Wolfsburg who had beaten Bayern to the title in the last 6/7 years, but eventually lost their best players and fallen back to mid table.

 

[NoLogo]

But that's exactly the point I'm making the poaching away is slowly but surely coming to an end.

Look at the Kagawa deal. We got a player, whose dream it was to play in the PL for a club like Man Utd, in the last year of his contract for a fair price.

Götze left because of a buyout clause and Dortmund being naive enough to believe in player loyalty but he wasn't cheap for Bayern.

Lewandowski and his agents were in some way convinced to make a deal with Bayern, despite it being totally illegal to hold such talks with a player that is still under contract and has no permission to do from his club.

Apart from that Dortmund sold no one, because they don't have to and they learned from certain mistakes they made in regards of buy out clauses and hoping for palyers to be loyal because they made them big.

I don't know who it was, either Klopp or Watzke, who said that the club essentially had a great development in the business department but a sensational one in the sport department which eventually led to them losing players due to not being able to meat their wage demands but the longer they remained at the top the more the business part catches up and with every forth coming year it will be harder for other clubs to convince Dortmund players to leave and join them.

I won't be saying they won't lose any star players anymore, because not even clubs as big as ours can be certain of it, but it will be much harder the longer Dortmund remains among the top 3 Bundesliga clubs and managers to reach the knock out-rounds of the CL.

 

[Balu]

It's weird that so many people on here deny the possibility for a small club to grow steadily instead of jumping from small to big instantly. Maybe it's because of all the investors in England who completely destroyed that possibily of doing something comparable in the last 15 years. A lot of football fans in England can't imagine that it might actually work.

Dortmund's revenue catches slowly up with top clubs in Europe, so there's no reason why they can't develop further despite loosing one top player each season. Most players look for a club within the league for the first step to a bigger club, so Dortmund should mainly be judged on their potential in the Bundesliga. Arsenal for example had no chance to build a quality team when clubs like Chelsea or City jumped from behind to ahead within one season. That's never going to happen in Germany, therefore they can plan with CL money and buy quality players in the league like Reus or Sokratis. In England those players would have gone from Arsenal to City (like Nasri for example), in Germany they go from Gladbach/Bremen to Dortmund. And Gladbach/Bremen aren't small clubs, they have a rich history with success domestically and in Europe. Also, the german youth teams are producing a lot of quality talents right now who are good enough to contribute at a very young age, so it's possible to get those players cheaper than in England and they need to pay lower wages. The timing for Dortmund was perfect, the league was on the rise and the youth generation is arguably the best ever in Germany. It's a total different situation for Dortmund in the Bundesliga than it would be for a club with the same team and the same financial background in England.

No one really knows how it all pans out in european competitions. Who would have thought that the english champion goes out in the CL group stages two years in a row. Tactics play a huge part there as well, luck is always important. If the league overall is strong, the second best team in the league will always have a shot at looking good. Dortmund of course won't be favorites to win the CL the next 5 years, they most likely won't make another CL final. But that's not really a problem, as long as they continue to grow during those years.

 

[RedRover]

Well even we lost Ronaldo, whom we made a star, to Real Madrid.

Players like Giggs and Scholes are a very rare sort of player, they are 1 in 1000 under players these days even if they come through the clubs own ranks most players don't feel any special obligation towards any special club.

It's all about the money these days and of course Watzke made the mistake by allowing such a low buyout clause in his contract, he was naive and thought well even if it's there he probably won't use it because he likes it here too much.

And of course success in Europe is harder to obtain in Europe than it is in the domestic league, we of all fans should know that, but that doesn't mean Dortmund will totally vanish out of the circle of teams that have a chance of reaching the later stages of the CL.

I think as long as Klopp is their manager they will remain Germany's number two team and a top 10 team in Europe, even if they continue to lose one or two of their star players per season.

There's another issue. How long until Klopp accepts a move elsewhere? The fact is they are very much Germany's number two team as it stands and look like being so for the forseeable future - how long top players and a very highly rated manager will be happy finishing second will go a long way to deciding how succesful they are.

The point I was making regarding Goetze is that even a player brought through the youth team, has won trophies and been generally very succesful cant be retained. That tells you a lot about the balance of power in Germany and the fact that Dortmund will struggle to retain their best players year on year.

As I've said - to me their model will have to be selling their best players at some stage for huge money, and trying to repalce those players. As long as they can do that then they'll continue to do well, but its not easy to do. If it were, every side would be at it. There are no certainties in football - hence why its so exciting to watch.

They need to keep the people behind the scenes who are responsible for bringing in these players happy. I'm sure those involved would be welcome at other clubs as well.

 

[Platato]

It seems to me too much is being made of the Kagawa & Goetze transfers with Lewandowski to depart in the imminent future. Lewandowski seems adamant on joining Bayern. We already know Kagawa wanted to leave for the PL. There's very little Dortmund can do about that. Goezte wanted the opportunity to work with Pep Guardiola and is a Bayern fan himself..

While Dortmund have lost 2 great players and will lose Lewandowski, I do not think it will be a common trend. The latest test will be if they can hold on to Gundogan. If they cannot, then I think you can start to really worry. But based on the 3 aforementioned players, I do not think this is the usual "players being bought out by bigger clubs" but more so just players looking for greener pastures.

 

[kouroux]

They will probably drop him if Aubameyang shows he can take his place.

It's also out of Dortmunds hands considering that Bayern never made an official offer and Lewandowski won't go anywhere else.

fixed it for you.

 

[NoLogo]

@RedRover of course there are no certainties in football but you need to keep in mind that when we speak of number two in Germany doesn't mean they will always finish second.

Dortmund even when they won the league twice in a row where only the second biggest team in Germany but a bad season from Bayern and anything is possible.

In regards to having to sell their best player for big money, that's exactly a point I'm trying to make, they don't have to, they aren't reliant on having to make money from player sales.

It's also a bit strange that you seem to have such a hard time to imagine that things will actually change for Dortmund from losing one or two good players every year to losing one good player every three years to eventually losing one good player every 5.

And while you are right that it will be important to keep the people working behind the scenes at the club the only one I can see leaving within the forseable future is Klopp and he, as highly as I value him, is not irreplaceable.

One of the really great things about the German league these days is not only that it brings good players through the ranks but actually also a lot of very talented managers, Tuchel, Streich and Slomka are all young managers who I could see take over for Klopp and do a good job, so even losing him won't be the end of the world for them.

I don't even want to make the case that they are going to be the biggest thing in football for generations to come I just think that a lot of people in this thread generally seem to be too dismissive about their chances to remain among the top clubs which is all I'm trying to say here "Don't write them off so easily, there is more substance to that club than you might think."

 

[Sarni]

So, since Pep admitted that Thiago is the only player he wants now does that mean they won't be going after Lewandowski? Besides, with the number of midfielders they are about to have it's quite likely he'll play Muller up top to emulate what Messi did for Barcelona which would mean bench for Lewandowski.

 

[Freak]

They'll still go after him. There isn't a player Bayern don't want.

 

[bosnian_red]

Ribery is 30 right now, Robben is 29m, both would be a year older by the time Lewandowski came, and Robben isn't a starter right now as it is. I think when Lewandowski comes, Muller and Gotze will play as the two wingers and they'll have a proper striker instead of using a false 9 which seems likely this season.

 

[NoLogo]

Interestingly enough he said "Thiago is the only player he wants for this and next season".

Of course Rummenigge already said that they will def sign Lewandowski next season but it surely isn't flattering to hear that the manager of the team actually doesn't want you and that only the board is interested in signing you.

I'm sure though some journalist will asking him about this in the future and he will retract that statement and say something along the lines of "Of course Lewnadowski is an interesting player who every manager would love to have in his team."

But tbh the Lewandowski deal always struck me more as a move to weaken Dortmund and not as a move out of necessity and need for another striker.

 

[Sarni]

Interestingly enough he said "Thiago is the only player he wants for this and next season".

Of course Rummenigge already said that they will def sign Lewandowski next season but it surely isn't flattering to hear that the manager of the team actually doesn't want you and that only the board is interested in signing you.

I'm sure though some journalist will asking him about this in the future and he will retract that statement and say something along the lines of "Of course Lewnadowski is an interesting player who every manager would love to have in his team."

But tbh the Lewandowski deal always struck me more as a move to weaken Dortmund and not as a move out of necessity and need for another striker.

Of course they don't need him but as long as they offer €7m+ a year and a nice pay to his agent he'll move there even if it means spending 80% of time on the bench.

 

[Balu]

Interestingly enough he said "Thiago is the only player he wants for this and next season".

Of course Rummenigge already said that they will def sign Lewandowski next season but it surely isn't flattering to hear that the manager of the team actually doesn't want you and that only the board is interested in signing you.

I'm sure though some journalist will asking him about this in the future and he will retract that statement and say something along the lines of "Of course Lewnadowski is an interesting player who every manager would love to have in his team."

But tbh the Lewandowski deal always struck me more as a move to weaken Dortmund and not as a move out of necessity and need for another striker.

It sounded a bit weird, I'm not sure, maybe he just made a mistake? His German isn't perfect yet. Maybe he knows that the deal with Lewandowski is already done and just meant anyone else. I wouldn't read too much into it. He wasn't really enthusiastic when talking about him, though, there could be some truth to it.

 

[NoLogo]

Which is really idiotic imo, especially after Dortmund said they were willing to raise their contract offer to 6m € per year at the end of last season. Joining a team that doesn't really need a player like him for their tactical system over a team where the playing style fits him perfectly just because of 1 or 2 mio. € more per season seems like a very idiotic move.

But I guess that ship has sailed and there is no way of backing out of this deal now, so it will happen even if it's stupid for all sides. Bayern will waste 7m € per year on a player they don't really need, Dortmund will lose a players that fits their playing style perfectly and Lewandowski will lose his starting spot. Seems like a shitty deal for all involved parties so far.

 

[StuCol]

Klopp: “We have a bow and arrow, and if we aim exactly right, we can strike. It feels like Bayern have a bazooka, so the chances of them striking are much higher. But still, that was how Robin Hood succeeded.”

http://www.bundesliga.com/en/liga/news/2012/0000259984.php

I don't seem them slipping out of the top three, but money really does talk in football and given their relative resources, Bayern have been underachievers in the Bundesliga in the past few years (until this one obviously). But the way they're pushing Dortmund It looks like they aren't planning to allow a lot of serious competition.

Robin Hood wasn't fighting someone with a bazooka

 

[NoLogo]

It sounded a bit weird, I'm not sure, maybe he just made a mistake? His German isn't perfect yet. Maybe he knows that the deal with Lewandowski is already done and just meant anyone else. I wouldn't read too much into it. He wasn't really enthusiastic when talking about him, though, there could be some truth to it.

I don't know he seemed pretty sure that Thiago is the only player he really wants. Of course I'm sure he didn't think about the Lewandowski deal at this moment but you also need to remember that it's more a deal your board wanted and not Pep himself.

On top of that it looks like you are not going to play 4-2-3-1 next season but rather the Barca 4-1-4-1/4-3-3 which means a false 9 striker is also quite likely.

Which means that he won't have much use for a player like Lewandowski.

 

[Balu]

I don't want him anyway (unless he fires his agents), I just wouldn't read too much into that press conference.

 

[Devil may care]

Robin Hood wasn't fighting someone with a bazooka

You just haven't seem Michael Bay's Robin Hood.

 

[StuCol]

You just haven't seem Michael Bay's Robin Hood.

 

[do.ob]

Which is really idiotic imo, especially after Dortmund said they were willing to raise their contract offer to 6m € per year at the end of last season. Joining a team that doesn't really need a player like him for their tactical system over a team where the playing style fits him perfectly just because of 1 or 2 mio. € more per season seems like a very idiotic move.

But I guess that ship has sailed and there is no way of backing out of this deal now, so it will happen even if it's stupid for all sides. Bayern will waste 7m € per year on a player they don't really need, Dortmund will lose a players that fits their playing style perfectly and Lewandowski will lose his starting spot. Seems like a shitty deal for all involved parties so far.

Afaik Dortmund's final offer was supposedly €7m p.a. however I expect Bayern to pay a lot more than that. Gomez reportedly got around €10m p.a. and given Lewandowski's current status I don't see him earning (much) less than that, in addition Adidas will probably help out with a nice personal sponsorship contract. Also, let's be honest: Bayern will probably win a lot more silverware than Dortmund in the foreseeable future.
Lewandowski is not a static player. Moving out of the center, opening up spaces for the midfielders behind him was characteristic at Dortmund too, so he might actually turn out as a great middle ground between false 9 and your typical striker - don't forget that Pep tried to fit Ibrahimovic in his system not so long ago.

 

[Jimy_Hills_Chin]

I don't want him anyway (unless he fires his agents), I just wouldn't read too much into that press conference.

How are the Bayern board likely to feel about the transfer? Thiago is going to be stepping right on Toni Kroos's toes. Is that lad not supposed to be a player earmarked for a massive future in German football?

 

[Balu]

How are the Bayern board likely to feel about the transfer? Thiago is going to be stepping right on Toni Kroos's toes. Is that lad not supposed to be a player earmarked for a massive future in German football?

If the board isn't convinced we need Thiago or that signing him would hinder Kroos' development, we won't buy him. I don't think it's a big problem though, if we play that 4141/343 with Müller/Götze as a false 9. Then there's enough playing time for Thiago. But if that's the plan, I don't understand why we want Lewandowski.

 

[NoLogo]

Afaik Dortmund's final offer was supposedly €7m p.a. however I expect Bayern to pay a lot more than that. Gomez reportedly got around €10m p.a. and given Lewandowski's current status I don't see him earning (much) less than that, in addition Adidas will probably help out with a nice personal sponsorship contract. Also, let's be honest: Bayern will probably win a lot more silverware than Dortmund in the foreseeable future.
Lewandowski is not a static player. Moving out of the center, opening up spaces for the midfielders behind him was characteristic at Dortmund too, so he might actually turn out as a great middle ground between false 9 and your typical striker - don't forget that Pep tried to fit Ibrahimovic in his system not so long ago.

I don't know but I never had the impression that Pep really tried to fit him in. That he was much more a deal done by the Barca board to show that Real aren't the only team that can buy the big players after the Ronaldo and Kaka deals.

"So I asked for a meeting with Guardiola - for a discussion, not an argument. I said I was being used in the wrong way and that they shouldn’t have bought me if they wanted another type of player.

He might have tried to fit the player in but in a way that wouldn't suite him, same could happen to Lewandowski considering that he is a deal made by the board before Guardiola was even appointed as a manager.